One of Disney's rules seems to be no sad endings. If they did a movie about OTMA, perhaps they would alter the original story completely to give it a happy ending, the way they did for Hunchback of Notre Dame, or, to cite a non-Disney example, the way Delta Force is a fictionalized account of TWA Flight 847, but portrayed as ending with an Entebbe-inspired rescue, rather than with the terrorists' demands being met, as happened in real life.

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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

One of Disney's rules seems to be no sad endings. If they did a movie about OTMA, perhaps they would alter the original story completely to give it a happy ending, the way they did for Hunchback of Notre Dame, or, to cite a non-Disney example, the way Delta Force is a fictionalized account of TWA Flight 847, but portrayed as ending with an Entebbe-inspired rescue, rather than with the terrorists' demands being met, as happened in real life.

Agreed. And unfortunately for those hanging on to the Anastasia survival myth the "happy ending" you speak of seems to have vanished as evidence of the entire family's murder on 7/17/18 became to hard to ignore.

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Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

What I meant was a happy ending with no basis in the original story, like the example you pointed out earlier of how Inglourious Basterds plays around with history. The Anastasia survival story served as a basis for much media over the years because before the discovery of 12 sets of remains and DNA testing, there was still wiggle room to argue that the entire family wasn't killed, so the story had some degree of plausibility. With Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney altered the plot until it bore almost no resemblance to the original story, i.e., Phoebus is converted from a villain to a supporting hero and Esmeralda is saved from the fate she suffered in the book. There have already been fanfics posted on this board which did the same thing with NAOTMAA.

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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

What I meant was a happy ending with no basis in the original story, like the example you pointed out earlier of how Inglourious Basterds plays around with history. The Anastasia survival story served as a basis for much media over the years because before the discovery of 12 sets of remains and DNA testing, there was still wiggle room to argue that the entire family wasn't killed, so the story had some degree of plausibility. With Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney altered the plot until it bore almost no resemblance to the original story, i.e., Phoebus is converted from a villain to a supporting hero and Esmeralda is saved from the fate she suffered in the book. There have already been fanfics posted on this board which did the same thing with NAOTMAA.

Right you are.

What you mentioned about the revision of the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" and how Disney could easily do something similar (and Fox already has) regarding the Romanovs tragic end is bothersome to me.

Wouldn't it just be easier to make a film inspired by the real life events but fictional characters and setting? That way you can alter things as you see fit. My Romanovs meets "The Sound of Music" idea as an example.

Is there really that much money in the Romanovs (or Anastasia) name at this point to where it would matter rather you used the actual characters and drama of their time, or if you created a fictional portrayal inspired by those people and events?

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Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Well, the 100th anniversary of the Romanovs deaths is next year. I hear that Russia is going all out to celebrate and remember the Romanovs as they were living. It would be huge, and although there is tension between USA and Russia (yet again, sigh) Disney could easily cash in on it and make a movie about them or your idea about the Romanovs meeting 'The Sound of Music'.

Since the Hunchback of Notre Dame is a fictional character, i have no issue with the Disney version.

However, the Romanov family were real people. If you're going to bring their story to the big screen, you should stick to the facts, even the unpleasant ones.

Pocahontas and, surprisingly to some people, Mulan were also real people but Disney had no trouble altering (Pocahontas more than Mulan) their stories for the movies they feature in. Who says they won't do the same?

Quite a bit of artistic license taken regardless of who the subject might be. I guess the bottom line is this. Disney will do whatever they choose to do. Be that mostly historically accurate, partially accurate, or pure fiction.

It's then up to us to decide for ourselves how we feel about that.

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Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...